Books for Innovators

There are three things all successful innovators do well:

1. They focus on something that's Desirable to customers

2. They deliver a solution that's technologically Feasible

3. They execute a business model that's economically Viable

If you’re ready to live in the future and build what’s missing, you shouldn’t try to make it all up on your own. Here’s a reading list that will give you insights and roadmaps to improve your odds of going 3-for-3

The Process

Crossing the Chasm

Different types of customers see the value of disruptive technology in different ways. Early Adopters will look at a solution that's 80% complete and say, "Cool! I can figure out the remaining 20%, and be the first to get the benefits!" Pragmatists will say, "Come back and see me when you're ready to solve my problem." The challenge: Different pragmatists want different solutions, and your team may have the resources to take only one shot. Geoffrey Moore likens this to the D-Day invasion, which concentrated forces on Normandy vs. dividing them among Calais, Belgium, and Norway. In a little over 200 pages, he provides a clear roadmap for success.

Four Steps to the Epiphany

You may have heard of the Lean Startup Movement. It's actually an offshoot of Steve Blank's groundbreaking book. Steve attacks the tendency of technologists focusing too much on Product Development, to their peril. It turns out that the #1 cause of startup failure is delivering something that’s technically Feasible, but not Desirable to the customer. Blank provides a detailed guide to "get out of the building" and engage customers actively in a Customer Development process with four phases:

1. Customer Discovery: confirm you're solving a problem customers care about

2. Customer Validation: build a repeatable sales process for a viable business model

3. Customer Creation: build awareness and generate consistent, scalable demand

4. Company Building: scale profitably

You can find a free PDF with the first couple of chapters here

The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail

Large companies may make the opposite mistake from founders who fall in love with Feasibility. They ignore new technologies that are not yet ready for their current customers yet. Christensen coined the term "disruptive technologies" to describe this process. New technologies may have attributes that make them unattractive for established customers. If a focused innovator can find initial valuable applications, these can evolve rapidly. As the new technology matures, it may "Cross the Chasm" and deliver better value to established customers. Disruptive innovation has been called the most influential business idea of the early 21st century. Read about it here

Competing Against Luck: The Story of Innovation and Customer Choice

Why did you buy that milkshake? Product-focused innovators immediately think of features, but Clayton Christensen (author of The Innovator’s Dilemma) suggests we think of Jobs. Not Steve Jobs, but the job the customer is trying to accomplish. In the morning, the job of a milkshake may be "keep me going during a long and boring drive to work." In the afternoon, it might be "reward my kid after running a bunch of errands with me." Jobs go beyond functional elements (what the product does.) They usually have emotional (how it makes me feel) and social (how it makes other people feel about me) dimensions. A great book to develop deeper empathy on what’s truly Desirable.